Yu Tianheng's incident was just a small bump in the road.
Lin Xiao didn't dwell on it.
After exploring the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy campus, Lin Xiao mentally gave the school a passing grade. While the architecture was certainly lavish—bordering on palatial—that didn't impress him much. The true value of an academy should never lie in its buildings.
Now, there was only one place left to visit:
The Library.
Accompanied by Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, Lin Xiao walked through the Academy grounds toward the massive round structure that housed the library.
"Is it just me, or do buildings in the Douluo Continent really favor circular designs?"
He stepped inside—
And the atmosphere changed instantly.
Outside, students laughed, loitered, and fooled around. But inside the library? Total silence. Everyone had their heads buried in books, their expressions serious and focused.
Dugu Yan explained softly:
"Heaven Dou's library is open to all students. You can borrow any of the publicly available books. But rare originals and handwritten manuscripts must be read on-site and can't leave the building."
Lin Xiao nodded.
Looking around, he saw the books were categorized into four major sections:
Humanities
Martial Souls
Soul Skills
Miscellaneous
The humanities section included imperial history, biographies, cultural geography, and regional records—everything from coastal regions to the far north.
Lin Xiao flipped through a few books about the sea and the Extreme North.
The Extreme North, still largely undeveloped, had few records beyond the outermost regions of human activity. There were even some soul beast encyclopedias with basic entries like the Northern Ice Fox and Northern Ice Bear.
Unfortunately, the deeper parts of the Extreme North were rarely explored—plagued by year-round blizzards and shrouded in danger. As such, soul masters typically preferred the Star Dou Great Forest for soul ring hunting. It offered the greatest variety in both elemental and species diversity.
He also browsed the biography section—and to his surprise, found entries on Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen. The descriptions were vague, but still intriguing. As for Bo Saixi? She was described only as a "peerless beauty, whereabouts unknown."
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.
"Maybe this library's better than I thought…"
Not bad, for a school backed by the Heaven Dou royal family.
He jotted down the names of the books covering the coast and Extreme North, then turned to the Martial Soul section. There, he picked up a book titled:
"A Compendium of Top Martial Souls on the Continent"
To his surprise, the first entry was—the Clear Sky Hammer?!
Upon reading the explanation, he realized the rankings were based on the strength of the strongest known user for each Martial Soul, which explained the bias. After all, Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Clan had once been a terrifying force, even Qian Daoliu had to avoid direct conflict with him.
Naturally, the Angel Martial Soul came in second.
Lin Xiao read with growing interest, searching for a mention of the Phoenix Martial Soul—but after several pages, he still hadn't found it.
"What garbage. Not reading this anymore!"
Annoyed, he shoved the book back onto the shelf.
Then he grabbed another one:
"An Introduction to Martial Soul Theory"
This one was a treasure trove.
It didn't just catalog obscure Martial Souls—it also gave practical advice on soul ring combinations.
One section in particular caught his eye:
"For battle-type soul masters, it's best to focus on amplification skills in the early stages. One single-target and one area-attack skill is usually sufficient."
There was also a warning:
"Amplification-type soul skills can't be stacked indefinitely. The stronger the amplification, the greater the strain on the body. Using too many at once can cause backlash or even physical collapse."
Lin Xiao chuckled.
"Makes sense. If you try to activate every buff you have at once… you might explode before the fight even starts."
Then he came across a particularly insightful paragraph:
"Soul rings permanently affect the Martial Soul. Ideally, one should always pursue matching or compatible attributes when absorbing soul rings."
This was followed by an in-depth explanation.
Once absorbed, a soul ring fuses into the Martial Soul, becoming part of its essence. If the soul ring has conflicting properties—for example, a light-type Martial Soul absorbing a dark-type soul ring—the results could be catastrophic.
Best-case scenario: minor pollution of the Martial Soul.
Worst case: irreversible corruption, mental instability, or bodily breakdown.
"That's how many fallen soul masters are born."
The correct path was clear:
Seek out soul rings with matching or harmonious attributes. By doing so, you purify your Martial Soul's essence and stay on the righteous path.
"Well said," Lin Xiao nodded, impressed.
He flipped to the title page, curious about the author—and was shocked to see:
Compiled by the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Academic Committee
"Wow. The Academy actually knows what it's doing?"
No wonder it was the empire's top institution.
By now, Lin Xiao was fully absorbed in the material. He didn't even notice Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling waiting nearby, clearly bored out of their minds.
Women come and go, but knowledge is forever!
"On Absorbing Soul Rings for Tool and Plant-Type Martial Souls…"
Tool-type Martial Souls had the broadest range of options. They could often absorb even opposing-attribute soul rings without issue. The key was compatibility with the Martial Soul's core function.
For instance:
The Seven Kill Sword, which emphasized offense and killing intent, benefited most from fast, aggressive soul beasts.
The Clear Sky Hammer, with its focus on brute force and domination, paired well with powerful, heavy-type soul beasts.
Plant-type Martial Souls, on the other hand, were more restrictive—but could also be extremely specialized.
The trick was to identify the Martial Soul's core trait: Was it poison? Vitality? Control?
Once that was clear, the soul rings needed to amplify that strength.
Lin Xiao immediately thought of the Nine-Hearted Begonia.
Whether the ring came from animal or plant-type soul beasts didn't matter—it had to boost healing and life energy. That was the Martial Soul's essence.
Similarly, Blue Silver Grass, known for its life force, should ideally absorb soul rings from creatures brimming with vitality—fitting its path toward evolution.
"Which brings me to… my own Martial Soul."
"Fire Phoenix… What's the correct evolutionary path?"
"Just absorbing fire-type rings feels… too simplistic."
"There must be more to it…"
And with that, Lin Xiao dove deeper into thought.